“Money makes the world go round,” they say. “Money makes the world, full stop,” would be the reply of Perniclas Bedow, creator of a world of copper, gold and silver coins. Arranged by Swedish design studio Bedow, the piece is a world map made entirely out of over 3,000 coins from around the world: in a stroke of artistic genius, each continent was built using its own currency.

A 2009 project, it was arranged for use by Erik Penser Bankaktiebolag, a Swedish bank. One hopes that the bank’s security guards are keeping a close eye on Bedow’s stunning piece: anyone short on a bus fare may steal a bit of Ohio. Check out images of the project above and below, including some close-ups of the spare-change countries. See if you can spot which part of the world it is. [Read more…]

What do you see in these marvelous photos? You see a room in the Guggenheim Museum that is filled to the brim with 100,000 $1 bills. The money is actually a honorarium that artist Hans-Peter_Feldmann won for for significant achievement in contemporary art. This is known as the Biennal Hugo Boss Prize. He thought it would be a unique gesture for the museum to actually see how much money that is.